NEWS From BoatU.S., Boat Owners Association of The United States

The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is seeking

nonprofit groups to help educate mariners about good environmental habits

with grants of up to $4,000 for clean boating projects. Clean Water grants

are designed to educate boaters on issues such as petroleum pollution

prevention, pumpout education, and littering prevention. Although all clean

boating education proposals will be considered, the 2005 "focus topic" is on

reducing the spread of aquatic nuisance species - with extra consideration

given to proposals that address the issue.

"Boaters who trailer their boats can inadvertently transfer non native

plants, fish, and other species from one body of water to another," explains

Margaret Podlich, environmental director for the BoatU.S. Foundation. "When

alien species are spread to new waters, they can devastate the native

ecosystem. We are looking for proposals that educate boaters about practical

habits to prevent the further spread of invasive species - for example,

zebra mussels in middle America, purple loosestrife in the Great Lakes or

even the infamous snakehead in Maryland."

Last year's grant program received 62 proposals; of these, 19 projects in 15

states were selected for funding. To view previous grant projects, learn

more about aquatic nuisance species, or download a 2005 application, please

or postmarked by midnight February 1, 2005. The BoatU.S Foundation for

Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit education

and research organization primarily funded by the voluntary contributions of

575,000 members of BoatU.S., the nation's largest recreational boat owners

association. The Foundation has more than a dozen programs including the

only accredited, free, online general boating safety course, a low-cost

EPIRB rental program, the "Help Stop the Drops" clean fueling campaign, a

free kid's Life Jacket Loaner program, and grants for nonprofit groups for

boating safety and environmental projects.